LESSON 8.22 The Civil War
Learning targets
(clear, understandable versions of standards in
student friendly language)
1. Identify significant events during the course of
the war.
2. Evaluate the impact of the war.
Language objectives
(identified cognitive functions correlated to the
learning targets, such as sequence,
compare/contrast, cause/effect, infer, and argue,
as well as the signal words to be deliberately
taught/used in discussion and writing; sentence
frames in support section)
Elaboration
History Alive! Preview activity
(builds background; links to student experience)
Preview 22, p. 153 in ISN
Play CD Track 13, “The Bonnie Blue Flag,” and
CD Track 14, “Tenting Tonight.” As students
listen to each track, have them answer the
questions for Preview 22 in their Interactive
Student Notebooks. After each selection, ask
students to share their responses. Explain that
the lyrics and music in these songs reflect how
attitudes toward the Civil War changed
dramatically as the war dragged on and its
atrocities mounted. Tell students that the
uplifting “The Bonnie Blue Flag” was the
Confederacy’s second most popular song
(following “Dixie”) and reveals southerners’
confidence at the beginning of the war. In
contrast, the haunting “Tenting Tonight,” written
in 1863 by a northerner after receiving his draft
notice, shows how weary many had become
with the bloodshed produced after two years of
fighting. Students will enjoy listening to the
songs.
Pre-assessment activities/documents
(serves as self-assessment for students; informs
instruction for teachers; charts or documents
may be used as a place to gather
concepts/information throughout lesson through
debriefing; may include visuals, lesson
questions, lesson vocabulary, language
objectives, and/or learning targets)
See lesson questions
Lesson questions
(drive instruction; may create links to previous
Modified from History Alive! June 2010
SUMMARY OVERVIEW
History Alive! lesson plan
In this lesson, students learn how the Civil
War affected civilians and soldiers in the
Union and Confederacy. They read about key
events, battles, and developments of the Civil
War. Finally, students apply their learning in a
Processing assignment.
Recommended changes to HA! lesson plan
1. If Experiential Exercises pose an issue for
students in the classroom, they can use the
supplemental videos, clips, songs, and
literature noted in the section additional
background building.
2. Howard Zinn’s A Young People’s History Of
the United States, Volume One provides an
alternative perspective about the Civil War.
Chapter 9: “Slavery and Emancipation: The
Civil War and Slavery” 137-142,Discussion
Questions
1. How were African Americans affected by
the Civil War?
2. How were African Americans treated in the
North?
3. How did Jefferson Davis plan to utilize
African Americans during the Civil War?
Chapter 10 “The Other Civil War,” (pg. 147162), Discussion Questions
1. What class struggles existed in the United
States prior to, during, and after the Civil War?
2. How were people of different classes,
races, and ethnicities impacted by the Civil
War?
3. How did the United States government
support people from different classes, races,
and ethnicities?
4. How did people in poverty work to improve
their lives?
Since the text is inaccessible at an
independent reading level for many ELL
students and students reading below grade
level, I had to read most sections of most
chapters aloud.
1
learning; may be included in pre-assessment)
1. What were the strengths and weaknesses of
the Union and Confederacy at the beginning of
the Civil War?
2. Why would a war that many believed would
be short-lived last four years?
3. What were the critical battles and key
developments during the war?
4. What were the war’s effects on soldiers,
civilians, the physical environment, and future
warfare?
5. Why is the Civil War considered the first
modern war?
6. How did the Civil War resolve the challenge to
the United States’ existence?
Additional background building
(streaming video segments, DVD, map review,
read aloud of a related piece of fiction, etc.)
Please see document with this lesson for some
awesome video clips, songs, movie, and
literature suggestions!!
Helpful supplements include: A Young
People’s History of The United States, Beyond
the Oregon Trail, Discovery Streaming, etc.
I’ve included an extensive list of video, song,
movie, mini-series, and literature links in the
“background building” section.
Flexible grouping pattern of the lesson
Whole class
Reading
Partners
Independent
Key content vocabulary (italicized words
assessed)
1. Confederacy (p. 303, 305, 308)
2. Secession (p. 303, 305, 306, 320)
3. Traitors (p. 303)
4. Regiment (p. 309)
5. Confederate (p. 310)
6. Emancipation Proclamation (p. 312)
7. Habeas corpus (p. 313)
8. Besieged (p. 315)
9. Abolitionists (p. 317)
10. Regiment (p. 317)
11. Retreat (p. 318)
12. Total war (p. 318)
13. Sovereign (p. 320)
14. Military tactics (p. 321)
See additional vocabulary for ELLs and students
reading below grade level.
READING SUPPORT
Lesson-specific instructional supports http://groups.teachtci.com/
* see Enrichment Plan for Compacting/Extensions
Suggested strategies for
Focus pages/paragraphs for
Thinking/Processintroduction Interactive Readguided reading group
Related Words
Aloud
(for example, Bloom’s,
etc.)
Add Cornell Notes here
p. 321, paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
Compare/contrast
7
Cause/effect
Problem/solution
Modified from History Alive! June 2010
2
Elaboration
Resolve
WRITING SUPPORT
Lesson-specific instructional supports http://groups.teachtci.com/
* see Enrichment Plan for Compacting/Extensions
Sentence frames
for parts of the lesson
______ is significant because
__________________________
__________________________
_________.
DISCUSSION SUPPORT
Lesson-specific instructional supports http://groups.teachtci.com/
* see Enrichment Plan for Compacting/Extensions
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS (for student and teacher use)
“Check for understanding”
Checkpoints in Student
Questions for
points during activities
Interactive Notebook
exit and entrance slips
22.2 Preparing for War
1. What key advantages did the
Union (the North) have over the
Confederacy (the South) at the
beginning of the Civil War?
2. What key advantages did the
Confederacy have over the Union?
3. What were the personal
strengths and weaknesses of
President Abraham Lincoln and
President Jefferson Davis?
Geography Challenge
1. What are four interesting details
on the map?
2. Where did most battles take
place: in Union states, in
Confederate states, or in border
states?
3. In the early part of the war
(1861-1862), which side won more
battles? Why do you think this side
was more successful?
-In the later part of the war (18631865), which side won more
battles? Why do you think this side
was more successful?
Modified from History Alive! June 2010
22.3 Bull Run, p. 154
1. Why were many northerners
surprised at the outcome of the
Battle of Bull Run?
2. How did women participate in
the Civil War?
Please see “Check for
understanding” points
during activities.
22.4 Antietam, p. 154
1. What was important about the
Battle of Antietam?
2. What hardships did Civil War
soldiers face in combat?
22.5 Gettysburg, p. 155
1. Why was the Battle of
Gettysburg considered a turning
point in the Civil War?
2. What problems developed on
the Union home front during the
war?
22.6 Vicksburg, p. 156
1. Why was the Union victory at
Vicksburg important?
2. What problems developed on
the Confederate home front
during the war?
3
22.3 Bull Run
1. Why was the Battle of Bull Run
significant?
2. How did Rose Greenhow help
the Confederate army prior to the
Battle of Bull Run?
3. How did women support the war
effort?
22.4 Antietam
1. Why was the Battle of Antietam
significant?
2. Why was the Union army’s
victory unclear?
3. How effective was medical care
at this time?
22.7 Fort Wagner, p. 156
1. What was important about the
actions of the Massachusetts
54th at Fort Wagner?
2. How did African-Americans
contribute to the Union war
effort?
22.8 Appomattox, p. 157
1. What is meant by “total war”?
2. What did the Union army do
during their campaign of total
war?
3. What terms did Grant offer
Lee when he surrendered at
Appomattox Courthouse?
22.5 Gettysburg
1. What was the Emancipation
Proclamation? Why was it
important?
2. When was the first draft law
enacted?
3. Why was the Battle of
Gettysburg significant?
4. What problems did Lincoln face
on the home front?
5. Why were there draft riots?
6. Why was Lincoln’s Gettysburg
Address significant?
22.6 Vicksburg
1. Why was technology significant?
2. Why was the battle of the
Merrimac and the Monitor
significant?
3. Why was Vicksburg’s surrender
significant?
4. What effect did the Union’s
control of the Mississippi have on
the South?
5. What problems did the South
face on the home front?
22.7 Fort Wagner
1. What was the Massachusetts
54th Regiment?
2. How did African-Americans
impact the assault on Fort Wagner?
22.8 Appomattox
Modified from History Alive! June 2010
4
1. What was Grant’s war strategy?
2. Why was Grant’s invasion of
Richmond significant?
3. Why was the election of 1864
important?
4. What was the result of
Sherman’s march through
Georgia?
5. What was significant about Lee’s
surrender at Appomattox?
6. Why were Grant’s terms of
surrender generous?
7. How did the Civil War affect the
United States’ identity?
8. Why was the Civil War the first
truly modern war?
9. Which issues were still left
unsettled after the Civil War?
Processing Assignment
REVIEW
Games
Other
(also serves as a formative
assessment)
Processing 22: p. 158 in ISN
Draw heads and facial features to
express how three individuals felt
about the end of the Civil War.
Include the following: a Union or
Confederate soldier, a northern or
southern citizen, and an AfricanAmerican. Make thought bubbles
above the heads showing what
each individual might be thinking.
Each thought bubble should:
-describe how fighting in the Civil
War affected the individual’s life
-explain how the end of the Civil
War might change the individual’s
life
-be free of misspellings and
grammatical errors.
Imaginative Writing: p. 457 in HA
After students read, “Generals and
Soldiers of the Civil War” on pg.
454-457 of HA, students will
complete an imaginative writing
assignment: Imagine that you are a
young man living in the South or
the North in April 1861, when the
Civil War began. Write a statement
that expresses why you ware
willing to die for what you believe is
Modified from History Alive! June 2010
Timeline
Label and illustrate a
timeline with the
following events:
Abraham Lincoln’s
inauguration, Battle of
Bull Run, Battle of
Antietam, Battle of
Gettysburg, Battle of
Vicksburg, General
Lee’s Surrender. For
each event, draw a
creative and appropriate
symbol near its proper
place on the timeline.
Write the date the event
occurred and an
appropriate headline
for each event.
Posters
Have each student
complete poster for
each of the following
topics: Abraham
Lincoln’s inauguration,
Battle of Bull Run,
Women Support the
War, Battle of Antietam,
5
right. Refer to the arguments made
by Southerners like Robert E. Lee
and Robert W. Banks or
Northerners like Ulysses S. Grant
and Sullivan Ballou. Select from the
following forms of writing: a
personal letter to a family member
or friend, a letter to the editor of a
wartime newspaper, or a report to
your commanding officer. Your
completed piece must be at least
three paragraphs long and free of
errors in spelling, punctuation,
capitalization, and grammar.
Battle of Gettysburg,
Battle of Vicksburg, The
Massachusetts 54th
Regiment, Sherman’s
March Through
Georgia, General Lee’s
Surrender. Each poster
should summarize the
key issues around each
topic and include a
drawing representing
that topic.
RECOMMENDED CHANGES TO LESSON ASSESSMENT AND KEY
Assessment
Key
Modified from History Alive! June 2010
6